A so-called hybrid vehicle that is driven by an internal combustion engine and an electric motor has been focused. In the hybrid vehicle, the electric motor functions as a generator to regenerate electric power and store the electric power during deceleration. The stored electric power is utilized to generate driving force for accelerating the vehicle or driving the vehicle.
Some hybrid vehicles have an automatic transmission. The automatic transmission is also referred to as a transmission below.
In this case, a clutch that transmits power or cuts the transmission of power can be provided between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor.
There has conventionally been proposed a parallel-hybrid vehicle (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). The parallel-hybrid vehicle described above includes a battery temperature sensor and an HVECU that detect a battery condition; a vehicle speed sensor, an engine rotational speed sensor, and an accelerator pedal position sensor that sense a vehicle condition; and an FI/AT/MGECU that changes required values of an engine and a motor based upon the accelerator pedal position, and determines whether fuel supply to the engine is stopped or not from the vehicle condition. When the vehicle currently reduces its speed, and the accelerator pedal position is not more than a predetermined opening amount, the parallel-hybrid vehicle keeps a fuel-cut state, and controls the target torque required based upon the accelerator pedal position by a MOTECU until the accelerator pedal position reaches a predetermined position.